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Breaking Down Breakouts: What We Learned from Sparkfest 2018

March 3, 2018 was a great day for business owners all over the country who attended Sparkfest, an event co-headed by The Spark Project and Globe myBusiness. Entrepreneurs from different ways of trade were inspired by experts and fellow business owners, getting valuable tips and learning about new innovations that would help them throughout their business journey, from start to success.

This whole-day event kicked off with plenary sessions attended by more than a hundred business owners and entrepreneurs-to-be. Then, this eager and creative audience was divided into various breakout talks where they could gain more in-depth learnings that focused on creativity, innovation, design thinking, and social entrepreneurship.

Here are the highlights we picked up from Sparkfest’s expert-led breakout sessions:

Using Design Thinking to Solve Problems Creatively

Since one of Sparkfest’s main pushes for business owners was to apply creative thinking to their enterprises, quite a few speakers discussed how they used design thinking in their business journeys. Among these people were Dan Matutina of Plus 63 and Abi Mapua-Cabanilla of the College of St. Benilde’s Hub of Innovation for Inclusion. Basically, the five-step process described by these two speakers followed this format:

Knowing your audience.

In Dan’s case it was called listening, while in Abi’s it was called empathy. Either way, knowing your audience as personally and specifically as possible is the most important part of design thinking. From this knowledge, the rest of the process can follow.

Defining your problem

Design thinking is human-centered in nature, which means it offers a solution to a very real and current problem that people face. If you don’t have a clear idea what this problem is, you won’t be able to solve it.

Brainstorming ideas

This is undoubtedly the most fun part of the design thinking process, as it allows you to be creative, to think outside the box, and to really come up with solutions that directly answer and solve your problem, catering to the specific audience you discovered in Step 1.

Prototyping your solution

It’s only natural that coming up with a solution needs to be followed by creating it. Be it through digital or physical means, creating a prototype of your solution allows you to close the ideation process and start on the iteration.

Testing your solution

Finally, you have to showcase your solution to the people it was made for, and see if it really solves the problem they have. At this point, feedback is crucial, whether it’s positive or negative. Be open to all kinds of feedback because these shape how you can improve.

Social Media as an Essential Tool

The Purposeful Creative’s Arriane Serafico shared some tried-and-tested key insights for any business owner thriving through an online presence in this day and age:

The more a follower engages with you, the more you will show up on their feed. That’s how the algorithm works.

Social media is no longer just a broadcasting tool. More and more people are looking to engage with a brand on social media.

Your community wants valuable content; this is what makes them pay attention and stay on your page to find out more about you.

There’s no need to be stressed by algorithms. In reality, it’s happening. We do what resourceful people do: we adapt.

She also touched on ways entrepreneurs can bank on these insights, sharing a set of tips she herself gathered through her years of working with social media. Aptly called “action steps,” these are direct and specific ways to work through the social media space.

Define your niche market.

Know your community as more than just a demographic. Know their wants and needs, their habits, and what they want in life. Most importantly, know their values -- because while everything else about them can change, values often stay forever.

Choose your social media headquarters.

There are so many social media platforms out there that it can be tough for one person or even a small team to manage them all. So find one or two platforms that you can be really active in, and turn these into your social media headquarters.

Tip: When you start, consider reserving your username on every platform already, so you’re prepared no matter what platform you end up being active on.

Don’t put all your eggs in the social media basket.

Social media algorithms and the market reading posts change every so often, so don’t expect what’s functional now to work forever. Understand that social media is a borrowed space, which is why you should make sure you couple your social media efforts with something more permanent, like e-mail.

Find your “OG300.”

Much like “original gangsters,” these 300 best customers are the ones who are ride-or-die. They’re the ones who have been with your brand through thick and thin. Prioritize these people, because as she says, “An excited 300 is so much better than a lukewarm 1.000.”

Community Building as a Challenge with Rewards

Various social entrepreneurs and businesses with advocacies had a lot to share at Sparkfest as well, since social good is another push that the event was making for business owners.

To begin with, social enterprises were defined as businesses who balance profit and purpose. As Jamir Ocampo of Tsaa Laya said, “It's just a double job, we have to do more than traditional businesses in being innovative and creative in solving problems and cutting costs [...] We push ourselves further in capacity building. We think that if we have empowered communities, it is good for the business.”

It was additionally stated that adding advocacy to a business isn’t impossible, although it truly does take a bit more creativity and innovation. On the other hand, that’s precisely why it’s so great.

Ann Dumaliang of the Masungi Grove in Rizal said, “Even if you put focus on a social purpose, you need to be cost-efficient. That’s why creativity is so important. [...] You have to spend time on researching and developing what you have to offer.”

Merging Online and Offline Efforts

On the other hand, for businesses that aren’t quite there yet in terms of social enterprise, there’s still a way they can connect with audiences. As Kirk Damasco of Worship Generation said, the key to getting your business’ first set of customers is making a great first impression through an integrated in-store and online experience.

“There’s no second chance on first impressions,” he stated. “You need to deliver a message and you have to be consistent with what you say and do. [...] In the sea of clutter, people would want to look for something that has depth.”

Thus, entrepreneurs need to invest in people who are focused on customer service, regardless of what role they will play in the business. Much like the basis of design thinking, these people need to know their audience enough to empathize with them and understand their issues, and they need to be creative and caring enough to come up with solutions that are innovative and unique.